Shock-absorber.



w. H. HORSTMANN.

SHOCK ABSORBER. women FILED FEB. 26. 1916- RENEWED JUNE '7, 1917.

* in: Patented Jan. 1, 191

4 SHEETS SHEET l,- I

.FZGEL.

W. H. HORSTMANN.

SHOCK ABSORBER. APPLICATION HL ED FEB, 26, I916- RENEWED .iUNE 7. 19!].

Patented Jan BEET 3.

W. H. HORSTMANN.

SHOCK ABSORBER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26. 1916. RENEWED JUNE 7,1911.

1 ,252,006. Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

ul" I r i l:

I mull! I kw Q @QHMMW ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. OF OVERBB OOK PENNSYLVANIA.

SHOCK-ABSORBER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 26, 1916, Serial No. 80,556. RenewedJ'nne 7, 1917. Serial No. Lia/ 1 19,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. HORST-V MANN, of Overbrook,in the county of Montgomery and .State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shock-Absorbers, whereof the fol- My present invention relates to shock-ab sorbers for motor vehicles and the like, wherein a system of converting the direction of motion, due to the shock, is employed similar in its broad characteristics to that set forth in my Letters Patent of the United States No. ,1,086,917,dated February 10, 1914..

The object of the present invention is to simplify and strengthen the construction of the working parts, to enhance their efficiency, and to aiford an economical commercial embodiment of the device.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I, represents, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation, what may be termed an end view of the device, that is to say, a view taken from either the front or rear of the vehicle.

Fig. II, is a view of the device in side elevation, as seenfrom a plane indicated by the line II, II, of Fig. I, certain adjunctive por tions of the casing being removed, in order to better exhibit the structure of parts which otherwise would be concealed thereby.

Fig. III, is a view partly in plan and.

partly in horizontal section on the line III, III, of Fig. I.

Fig. IV, is a view, in perspective, of a portion of the operative mechanism as seen from the righthand side of Fig- I, the housing and other supporting parts being removed.

Figs... a portion of the adjunctive devices for inclosing certain of the moving parts.

In Figs. I, and III, I have shown, in connection with the :parts which embody my.

invention, certain structural features common in motor vehicles, which have no direct connection with the invention itself, but which. are represented in order to indicate their positions with reference. to the main parts of the shock-absorber.

In order to facilitate understanding of my invention, it is convenientto treat, the

axle of the ,vehicleasa fixed or stationary membenandthe wheel and its stud axle as ,.VI, and VII,are detail views of Patented Jami, 1913..

vertically movable, or floating members.

Under this view, the invention'comprises a group f of fixed elements and a group of floating elements, and I will first describe The a xle'1, carries, at eachenlargedex- '60 the general structure of the f xed elements.

tremity, a housing which comprises a downwardly clependingU-shaped yoke2, an

upwardly extending and overhanging; frame 3, the end of said frame 3, remote from the?" axle being connected with the extremity of the yoke 2, by a vertical membent, these parts being preferably integral. At the re -gion of junction between the vertical memher 4, and the members 2, and3, laterally projecting brackets 5, and 6, are formed and these brackets carry on their outer faces bearing blocks 8, and 9, respectively, said brackets also carrying a U shapedhousing piece 7, see Fig. II, which extends in a fore and aft direction and isar'ranged opposite to the open space between the yoke 2, and member 4, on the one hand, andthe blocks 8, and 9, on the other. fTlie-hmisingalso carries a laterally projecting frusto-conical' base member 12, (see Figs. II and III), lo-

cated at the regionopposite' to the opening of the yoke 2, and frame ,3, and'at' a vertical height corresponding to that of the axle 1. Thevertical member 4, of the housing carries, on its inner side, a boss 13, whichif' supports what may be considered as the maini' axis of movement for the floating group.

Said; floating group comprises a plurality of vertically movable guide rods, to which the stud axle of thevehicle is rigidly connected,'a pair of rollinggears, and a group of connected devices which convert the idirection of motion derived from the stud axle from a vertical to a horizontal planef and transmit the converted stress to a spring ,f element carried by the fixed group These parts will now be described.

The guide rods 15' and 16, (shown in Fig. II without their inclosing casings at top and bottom) are adapted to slide freely in a vertical direction in apertures formed in the guide-blocks 8, and 9. Said rods arefi'xedly.

connectedto a block 17, to which the stud axle and its associated members are at- (tached ,by nieans of a horiZontallexten-f. sion 18', shown cross section in Fig. II, and indicatedby dotted lines'in Figs jI,

and IIIfl'lothis blockthe'wheel and asso ciatediheinbers are, connected [as shownin' s 1 M111 w er t kes dicated at 19, the brake band at 20, and the driving sprocket at 21.

For present purposes, it is sufficient to state that when the wheel encounters and passes an obstacle the resultant stress will be manifested in a rising and falling-movement of the wheel, which may be considered as having a general vertical direction, and this movement will be transmitted to the block 17, occasioning a rising and falling movement of said block in a true vertical direction, by reason of the arrangement of the guide-rods.

In order to convert this vertical movement of the block into a stress manifested in a horizontal direction, I employ the following groups of members which, so to speak, float with relation to the housing and the axle.

Upon the inner side of the block 17, is mounted a laterally projecting stud bearing 25, to which is pivotally connected a horizontally extending radius arm 26, bent laterally for a short distance, as shown at 27', in Fig. 111, and afterward prolonged as in dicated at 28, in a direction parallel to its original general line.

Said radius arm carries, at its outer extremity, toothed sector 29, whose are is struck from the axial line of a stud 33, as a center. The toothed sector 29, engages with a correspondingly toothed vertical rack 30, rigidly mounted within the vertical trans verse portion of the yoke 7. Disregarding the other connected parts for the present, it is obvious that vertical movement of the block 17, will be attended by rolling movement of the sector 29, upon the rack 30, said movement occurring in a vertical plane. At the longitudinally centralregion of the radius arm 26, an enlargement or boss 31, is formedto receive the stud 33, to which is pivotally attached a triangular swinging frame 35. Said frame is substantially in the form of a right angle triangle, the Pivotal point upon the stud 33, being located at one corner, while the frame at its right angled corner is provided with an enlargement 36, to receive freely a horizontal pivot or stud -37, fixedly mounted upon the inwardly pro jecting boss 13, extending from the inner side of the. vertical frame member 4. It

will, therefore, be seen that when theradius arm 28, and its sector travel up and down, the triangular swinging frame 35, will oscillatein a vertical plane upon the stud bearing 37. At the lower angle of the vertical swinging frame an enlargement 38, is provided which forms the seat for a stud 40. Upon this stud is pivotally mounted a second radius arm 41, similar in length to the radius arm 28, but extending in avertical direction. Said arm is provided at its outer extremity, with asector gear 42, engaging with the horizontal rack 43, mountand of the suspension of the radius arm 41, from the lower extremity of the triangular swinging frame 35, the vertical rolling travel of the sector gear 29, accompanying the vertical motion of the block 17, Will be converted into horizontal rohing travel of the radius arm 41, and this horizontal rolling will occasion longitudinal movement of the rod 46, in a horizontal plane.

Said rod 46, is (as shown in Figs. 11, and III) extended through the frusto-conical bearing seat 12, beyond which it projects horizontally for a considerable distance. The outer portion of said rod is surrounded by a strong spiral spring 50, seated at one end in a recess 51, formed in the block 12,

and engagingat the other end in a recessed cap 52, which is secured upon the threaded outer extremity of the rod 46, by means of a nut 53.

By means of this floating system and its train of motion-converting elements, compression of the spring 50, in a horizontal direction occurs whenever the block 17, rises in a vertical plane as the result of the wheels encountering an obstacle over 'which it rides. The strength of the spring 50, is so proportioned, with relation to the total weight of the vehicle, that the normal position of the car with an average load will correspond substantially with a central position of the two sector gears upon their re I spective racks, as shown in the figures.

I have found that by the foregoingor- Tilt ganization all the advantages of the system set forth in my said Patent No. 1,086,917, dated February 10, 1914, are attained with even greaterefticiency and that the construetion of the parts is greatly simplified for practical embodiment.

In order to shield the guide rods 15, and 16, as far as possible, from dust and grit, I

prefer to employ the adjunctive devices shown in detail in Figs. V, VI, and VII, and indicated in other positions in Fig. I. These adjunctive devices are located at'the upper and lower ends of each rod, but sincethey are identical in construction and mode of operation, it is only necessary to describe in detail one thereof.

, Referring to the sectional View or, Fig. V, it will be noted that the upper extremityof the rod 15, is inclosed by a hollow cylindrical casing 60, closed at its upper extremity by means of a screw cap 61, provided with a valve 62, opening inwardly and covered by a wire gauze screen 63. The lower extremity of the casing 60, is internally threaded to en gage with a correspondingly threaded flange 65, upon a bushing-piece 66, provided on its outer surfaces with vertical grooves 67, which extend up through the flange 65, as indicated at 68. A spiral oil groove 69, may be formed in the inside of the piece 66. Said bushing-piece 66, fits snugly but freely upon the rod 15, the flange 65, resting upon the top of the block 8, around the vertical guide opening through said block. An inverted annular cap 70, is secured around said .opening at the lower side of the block 8, and may contain loosely arranged packing material indicated at 71. When the rod 15, rises within the casing 60, the air therein is compressed and forcibly driven in a vertical direction through the grooves 67, and through the loose packing, thereby preventing the influx of any soot or grit into the slide bearing during the upward travel of the rod 16. The converse of this action appertains to the cylinders at the lower ends of the guide rods 15, and 16. In order to compensate for the displacement of the air as described, a corresponding volume of air subsequently enters through the screened valve 62, on the return movement of the rod.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a shock-absorber, the combination of a fixed axle; a wheel-carrying stud-axle, a plurality of guide rods connected to said stud-axle; a housing intervening between said fixed axle and said guide rods, and provided with bearings for said guide rods; a substantially horizontal radius arm pivotally connected with said guide rods; a sector gear carried by said radius-arm; a substantially vertical rack mounted in said housing and engaging said sector gear; a substantially vertical radius-arm; a sector gear carried by said radius-arm, a substantially horizontal rack carried by said housing and engaging said second sector gear; a swinging frame mounted upon a fixed bearing in said housing, and pivotally connected in quadrant relation with each of said radius-arms; a rod connected with said vertical radius-arm; and a spring mounted upon the housing and operatively connected with said rod, substantially as set forth.

2. In a shock-absorber system comprising a vertically movable guide rod, a fixed bearing therefor, and associated floating mechanism for converting the direction of motion of said guide rod; the combination, with said guide rod, of a casing inclosing the extremity thereof; and a longitudinally grooved bushing arranged within said casing and surrounding said rod, the openings of said grooves communicating with the interior of the casing and leading through said bearing, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- Vania, this twenty-fourth day of February, 7

WILLIAM H. HORSTMANN. Witnesses:

JAMEs H. BELL, E. L. FULLERTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

